Getting Eduardo to church

Hello, Like usual, my week was pretty busy but really good. Since we're trying to meet new people and help more people progress, some days aren't as eventful, but it's still a blast wherever we are. It was also raining this week for the first time in months for San Jose, so that was really nice. Tuesday was District Council (but no Taco Tuesday :( ), and we later had a meeting with a woman named Letty who was being taught by the Sister missionaries for a while before they were transferred. We then stopped by a guy named Eduardo (he was the first guy we taught last Sunday; I somehow forgot to mention this last week, but we set up a baptism date for him about a month from now), and then stopped by Justin/Jaycci for dinner and a lesson. It was really good; they've been studying the scriptures more and more, and there has been a noticeable change in them since they were baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has been awesome to witness, and we were just helping them prepare for and understand the temple and its purpose. Wednesday was a bit interesting. During our morning studies, we got a call from the APs (which scared my companion for a moment lol), and they told us that someone in the hospital right next to our apartment wanted a blessing. It took a little while for us to actually get into the hospital; because of covid policy, only one person per patient would be allowed to go up to that specific floor at a time, so my companion had to go up by himself and get approval for me to come up as well (it felt a little weird being separated for the moment haha). Something cool my companion mentioned on our way back was that we were literally doing what Jesus Christ and His Apostles/disciples were doing throughout the New Testament; someone would come to them asking for a blessing, and they would travel around, ministering to God's children and healing them. We later participated in another blessing for a missionary leaving to their original assignment the next day, and after we did some contacting and met some new people, we went to a Bible study in the evening. It was nice being there with them, and we're meeting again in a couple weeks, but my companion and I felt a little sad for them because although we had only read about a chapter in Philippians, we felt like there was so much more they could be getting out of the Bible and what we were reading, and it helped strengthen our own testimonies about the Restoration of the Gospel and all of the light and truth and knowledge it brings. On Thursday, we went to an Instagram Team meeting and had Taco Thursday (haha). After making some more stopbys, we went to see Matt and Martin (Elder Schumann-Curtis has known both of them for some time, I've only met Matt once). They are both such clowns, they are so funny and love to tease us and each other haha. They asked us about temples/temple marriages (we had to clarify the difference between temples and church buildings and explain the different uses for both), and it eventually led into a discussion into a few of the differences between our beliefs. The funny thing is that in every discussion we had, they ended up agreeing with us and saying we were right and what we said made sense....but they still say they are going to stick with their own beliefs/religion (even though they think some of it isn't right) which is just mind-boggling to me haha. But it's all good, we can see the Spirit working a little bit on them when we teach and testify haha, and they're still down to have us over and talk about religion. Friday was a bit of a slower day. We had weekly planning, which took up a bunch of time, and then we biked to one of the further neighborhoods in our area to be there for the rest of the day. While we were there, we met someone who we haven't been able to contact in a while as they were leaving their car, and they were totally down to talk with us again, which was a little miracle. What's crazy is that they've been attending church over Zoom and we didn't even know haha! We then had a dinner with some members in that area and played a game called Blokus (I won both times lol). On Saturday, we made a lot of phone calls and stopbys to ask people to come to church, and we also did some service for one of the members. The craziest thing happened at the service: someone we hadn't met before called us and asked if he'd be able to come to church on Sunday. It was super cool, even if we later found out that he wasn't in our area 🤦‍♂️😂 We then met with Eduardo again, and he told us that he had been reading the first few pages of the Book of Mormon (introduction/testimony of Joseph Smith), and he kept telling us how Joseph Smith's experience made sense and felt right to him as he read it. We explained a bit more about his story and asked him to keep reading and to come to church the next day, and he promised--both to us and to God--that he would be there haha. This is actually the most committed he has ever been since either of us have known him, which is really promising. We then met with Justin and Jaycci for dinner. We also played Monopoly, and I lasted way longer than I should've with what was stacked against me haha. It was awesome, we answered their questions about the ward and what they had been reading in their personal studies, and they've been teaching their kids about the gospel as well. Sunday was pretty rainy, so we got a ride to church from some members haha. And Eduardo actually was at church, which was fantastic. The rest of Sunday was a bit slower, but we made some good phone calls and stopbys, and we had dinner with Bishop and his wife, which was good. Just want to leave you all with a reminder that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). As long as you are willing to reach out to God, your loving Heavenly Father, and follow Him, anything that happens to you in life "shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good...for God shall be with you forever and ever" as you hold onto your faith in Him and do all you can to strengthen your relationship with Him. He loves you and is always ready to bless you if you turn to Him. I hope you all have an amazing week. See you next week, Elder Enger